ProHealth Physicians said Thursday its longtime CEO, Jack Reed, will retire after 22 years with the organization, which is Connecticut's largest standalone medical group by doctor headcount.

In mid-April, Reed's successor, Dr. Benito Alvarez, will become CEO, ProHealth said Thursday.

Alvarez, an obstetrician-gynecologist, is currently president of Cleveland Clinic Akron General's physician group in Ohio.

He attended Columbia University Medical School and completed his residencies at Cleveland's Mount Sinai Medical Center.ProHealth employs 350 primary and specialty-care providers, according to its website, including 241 physicians, according to its most recent state filing.

"[Alvarez's] strategic leadership and commitment to high-quality patient care will ensure that ProHealth Physicians continues to be one of Connecticut's foremost ambulatory healthcare systems," Dr. Tarek Elsawy, president of OptumCare New England, said in a statement.

Optum has been in an arms race with hospitals to amass physicians in recent years, according to Bloomberg, which reported last year that the company had 30,000 employed or affiliated doctors and was set to add thousands more through its acquisition of Davita Medical Group.